Ride like the Devil discussion


This summer and fall, the Chicago History Museum is offering a unique bicycle tour called Ride like the Devil. This tour is based on the fantastic book, The Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen. This is a book that juxtaposes the story of Chicago hosting the Columbian Exposition/1893 World's Fair with the tale of America's first serial killer, H. H. Holmes.

It delves into the politics of site selection, the egos of the architects and designers and board members involved, and not involved, and all of the trials and tribulations of Daniel Burnham and the leading architects of the United States' attempt to create the greatest World's Fair in history in a fraction of the time necessary. All the while, the fiendish H.H. Holmes constructed a "murder mansion" in Englewood, a short train ride to the world's fair, and preyed upon the large influx of people, particularly women, coming to Chicago for the greatest spectacle to ever grace American soil.

I am told by the Chicago History Museum that all five rides are already half-way full with paid registrations, so if this sounds like an appealing ride, please take a moment to go to the event site at:

http://www.thechainlink.org/events/ride-like-the-devil

And take a moment to register at the Chicago History Museum's bike tours site:

http://www.chicagohistory.org/planavisit/upcomingevents/tours/bike-...

The cost is $20 for members and $25 for non-members. It is important to note that the Chicago History Museum is an absolutely amazing organization and does tremendous work in helping tell the tale, chronicle and preserve the history of our great city. Please remember this when considering the cost.

Thanks all and best regards.

Lee Diamond

I am leading and narrating the tour

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on May 27, 2009 at 6:22am
Cool idea for a ride. I plan to go - which date to choose?
Permalink Reply by Primitive Don on May 27, 2009 at 7:12am
very cool Lee! I STILL need to read that book.
Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on May 27, 2009 at 7:21am
Thanks Anne,

Nothing in particular will differ from any ride except we are talking about making the September ride a little bit slower in case we get enough requests to slow the pace down. In order to finish the ride in the prescribed time, we would need to average about 16 mph, so it isn't fast, but it is a brisk pace. The September ride might be 10-14 mph or something, but that is NOT confirmed.

Thanks Don. It is a brilliant read. I am on my third or fourth read of it right now just to freshen up...highly recommended.

As a shameless plug, a free ride can be had of equal interest, but maybe no corresponding famous book, this Sunday on the Tour of Austin......details here:


http://www.thechainlink.org/events/tour-of-austin
Permalink Reply by JKT on May 27, 2009 at 7:48am
The book was great. I especially loved the passage describing how the "bicycle" was all the rage and was one of the main forms of transportation. Ah, but that is a bygone era...

If you liked Devil in the White City, I also suggest Thunderstruck, also by Erik Larsen.
Permalink Reply by Chuck a Muck on May 27, 2009 at 11:54am
So Lee did ya know the duplex that H.H. Holmes stayed at on the Northside is still there?
Creepy...
Permalink Reply by Vondo on May 27, 2009 at 4:12pm
Dude, I picked this book up along with a couple others a couple of weeks ago, and it is still sitting on my table waiting to be read! I did read a book about H.H. Holmes titled Depraved a while back, and that's what caught my attention about The Devil In The White City. What a coincidence, I have to read it and now, since I hear great things about the book here, I will probably have to check out this tour, too. Awesome!
Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on May 28, 2009 at 2:55am
Chuck a Muck said:
So Lee did ya know the duplex that H.H. Holmes stayed at on the Northside is still there?
Creepy...

Chuck - I was not aware....do you have an address? Very interesting.....any info you have is super-appreciated!

Vando - My guess is you will get through it pretty quickly once you start. The juxtaposition of the two tales is incredibly well done and the book is one in which you are constantly trying to find out what happens next, so you keep reading! At least for me.....hope to see you on a tour!

Cheers - Lee

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